377: Creating a culture that supports growth Kirk Kelewae

In this episode, we discuss how Kirk Kelewae got his start in hospitality, never-ending transitional moments, rewarding ambition, taking initiative, creating opportunities for yourself, creating a culture where people feel they can contribute and grow, why mentoring is a “two-way street”, how to make special experiences, establishing trust with your guest, the transition to management, why being management means you have to work even harder, how to critique a best friend, the importance of opening yourself up to feedback, how to management managers, why you should never higher someone just to “fill a role” and transitioning from fine-dining to fast-casual.

Kirk Kelewae is a graduate of Cornell University where he studied Hospitality Administration and Management. In 2008 he joined the team at the Eleven Madison Park as a food runner, which lead to becoming Dining Room Manager, which lead to becoming service director, which eventually lead to becoming General Manager. In 2017 Eleven Madison Park earned the #1 spot on the San Pellegrino Worlds 50 Best Restaurants. Today, Kirk GM at Made Nice.

Toast customers have experienced a 20% increase in revenue via improved throughput, 3x increase in tips from digital signatures, and 50% increase in online ordering after switching to the Toast platform